


Ariliel: Lost

by Tress13



Series: Ariliel Stories [2]
Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Dungeons & Dragons - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Homebrew Content, Shipwrecks, family death mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-27
Updated: 2019-08-27
Packaged: 2020-09-27 18:41:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20412493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tress13/pseuds/Tress13
Summary: A bit of backstory for my D&D character, Ariliel.-“What is the last thing that you remember? Do you remember your name?” The woman fired off questions as she took Ari’s hand and searched for her pulse. The woman’s hands were cool to the touch as she counted the beats of Ari’s pulse.Ari tensed at the contact. The grip was firm and she struggled not to recoil.Where was Papa? She remembered. . .she remembered. . .





	Ariliel: Lost

“Papa!” Ariliel jolted awake, in pain and confused.

Her whole body ached and there was a sharp pain in her ribs when she tried to sit up.  
She immediately fell back down onto the bed, her breath coming in sharp gasps as she tried to rise once more - slowly this time.

“Please lay down! Extra stress could worsen your injuries!” a woman in deep blue robes moved quickly from behind a curtain towards Ari. Her brows were furrowed and she appeared frazzled.  
A glance about the room revealed a row of about ten beds lining the wall, each partially obscured by hanging curtains.

“What is the last thing that you remember? Do you remember your name?” The woman fired off questions as she took Ari’s hand and searched for her pulse. The woman’s hands were cool to the touch as she counted the beats of Ari’s pulse.  
Ari tensed at the contact. The grip was firm and she struggled not to recoil.

Where was Papa? She remembered. . .she remembered. . .

-

_The first day on the ship had been rather exciting, seeing Isyl’s enthusiasm over the sailing only doubled the feeling._  
_ Zephyrine had been more reserved, still unsure and nervous about leaving the only home they had ever known._  
_ The waves had been gentle and the skies blue that first day._

_The next morning the sunrise blazed a brilliant red across the horizon. . . Dark clouds rolled across the skyline throughout the morning, pushed along by strong winds._  
_ By midday the ship was in the midst of a terrible storm. . ._

_Ari had been sent to their cabin below with her siblings._  
_ Papa was supposed to join them, but hadn’t come down yet. Isryl was curled up close to her side. Zephyrine gripping her hand tight. She tried to stay calm. . . .She nudged Isryl towards Zephy before standing._  
_ “Wait! Ari!” Zephyrine’s voice cracked with emotion._  
_ “I’ll be right back.” She tried to smile softly at Zephy. Like Papa would do. She needed to go find Papa. . ._

_Ari was thrown about the interior of the ship trying to get up on deck; the rough swells of waves crashing into the ship and tossing it back and forth._  
_ When Ari finally made it to the door of the deck she was out of breath. The wind and rain was harsh enough that she could barely make out the figures on deck. Clarity of sight and sound stolen in the pound of the rain, wind, and waves._  
_ Ari stepped out of the doorway, still clutching the frame, trying to get a better look. The storm lashed against her face. She could just make out a flash of long white hair across the deck._

_“Papa!” Ari let go of the door and started to rush towards her Papa. At the same moment a gigantic wave crashed against the side of the ship._  
_ Ari was flung sharply to the side, her torso hitting the railing of the ship with a crack. She tried to hold on to that railing but her arm and side throbbed with pain._

_Ari thought she heard her Papa’s voice rise above the tempest, calling her. She tried to call back, but her ribs ached when she tried to draw in breath to shout._

_Ari frantically scanned the deck for her Papa, finding the familiar figure racing towards her, his hair streaming behind him._  
_ Ari met his eyes and tried to start towards him. Another crash of waves tossed the ship harshly._

_“Ariliel! No!”_  
_ A barrel not properly secured went flying into Ari, the impact knocking her over the railing._  
_ Her head smacking sharply against the side as she fell._  
_ As waves enveloped her the world went dark._

-

“I. . . My name is Ariliel! I was on a ship. With my Papa! And my brother and sister! I. . . I fell overboard. . . I think I might have hit my head? Please, where is my Papa?”

The woman paused in her physical examination of Ariliel, her stern face flickering briefly with an emotion that Ari could not name.  
“You were found on the beach by priests of the temple of Procan. This temple. What is your family name?. . . Perhaps your family is looking for you. . .”

Ari paused. . . .Papa didn’t have a family name? Or at least never used one in front of her. . .  
“Um. . . Saekiir maybe? Papa’s name is Akemi!”

The woman nodded slowly, “We will send out word to nearby settlements to see if we can find anyone looking for you. In the meantime you will remain here and heal.”

Ari bit her lip “I- . . . Thank you.”  
She tried to remain calm and breath deeply as the healer - priest? - continued her physical examination, finally announcing that she was recovering well.  
Ari did not want to stay here and wait by herself. She was sure that Papa was frantic with worry. Isryl and Zephyrine would be scared. She hoped Papa could comfort them through his own concerns. . .  
She had to be mature and think about this logically. She just had to wait for word from Papa. . .  
What she wanted though was her family. She wanted to hear Isryl’s giggles and see Zephyrine’s smiles. She wanted her parents. Papa’s soothing voice. Mama’s comforting embrace. Nanae’s strength.

It would be fine. She just had to wait.

~~~~

Days turned into a week. Which turned into two weeks.  
There had been no word from her Papa. Or any news at all.

Ari had been moved from the healing ward into the dormitories of the novice acolytes. She quickly noticed that there seemed to be a distinct split between two unofficial types of novices. There were those who came from rich families - the ones who had been sponsored by families who gave generously to the temple. They received generous allowances, care packages, and family visits.  
And then there were those novices that were not from that background. Those from hard working families, and those who were orphaned or “found” by the temple.

Ari was in a dormitory with the later. The novices that shared the room were kind and friendly. Several of them had given her a tour of the temple library and shared recommendations on books there.  
It was not a terrible place by any means. Ari recognized that she should be grateful to be healed and housed.  
But it wasn’t home, and she missed her family, and. . . there were whispers and occasional comments that did bother Ari.

Implications that her family wasn’t looking for her. That she had been lying about her family existing at all.

Ari tried very hard to channel her Papa. He was always elegant, and calm, and completely in control of the situation no matter how trying it might be. ‘It will be fine’, and ‘I just have to wait a bit longer’ became her internal refrain.

It was difficult to remain calm with little sleep however.  
Ari had a recurring dream every night since the first day she had woken up at the temple. A great white turtle covered in barnacles making its way through the waves, surrounded by glowing lights in the ocean.  
Seeing the turtle in the dreams caused a feeling of calm to swell in Ari’s chest but . . . when she woke up, she felt restless.  
At first she had assumed it was just the strangeness of being in an unfamiliar place… particularly after a bad experience.

After the first five nights, however, Ari began to suspect that something was trying to communicate with her. Nanae and Mama and told her that dreams could be messages or have hidden meanings.

At first Ari went to her friends at the dormitory to see if they knew anything about dreams, but had no luck there. So she decided to ask one of the priests about dreams as signs or messages.

Ari couldn’t find the priest who ran the healing ward, but was able to find an older priest leaving the main sanctuary and asked him about the subject.

“Dreams, you say? Why would you need to know about dreams?” The priest glanced at her briefly before continuing to walk as he spoke to her, “Are you not the young lady who was brought to us by the storm?”  
He was tall and Ari had to struggle to keep up with his strides.

Ari’s nose wrinkled a bit, she was starting to wish she’d waited to find the healer priest instead “Yes, dreams! I’ve. . .I was just wondering because I’ve been having strange dreams every night! There is a giant white sea turtle that is covered in barnacles and-”

The priest had maintained pace until she mentioned the sea turtle. He stopped abruptly and mumbled something unintelligible before his hand came out to steer Ari around, interrupting her explanation. He briskly started walking her back towards the novice dormitories.

“Hey! Wh- what are you doing? Can’t you explain? Or at least tell me where to find more information!”

The elderly priest sighed deeply as they arrived at the novice dormitories. “Sister Marella should have made this clear earlier. We sent out inquiries for your family as a courtesy, but there has obviously been no response. Whoever was on that ship with you is dead.”

Any calm that Ari had maintained was shattered, “That’s absolute BULLSHI-”

“You _will_ maintain a civil tongue!” The priests face became thunderous before relaxing into a more benign expression. It looked like pity. Ari hated it.  
“You should thank Procan that you were saved. You have my condolences for your loss, but you were brought here for a reason. You will begin as a novice tomorrow.”  
The priest turned away in a swirl of blue and green robes before Ari could respond. He did not look back at her once.

Ari could feel the start of hot tears falling from her eyes. Her fingernails bit into the tender skin of her palms as she tried to breathe deeply like Papa told her to when she was upset or scared. She wanted to curse and scream and. . .  
She needed to breath.  
She needed to breath and be calm and logical and. . . .she’d figure out something.

~~~~

Ariliel waited till the middle of the night to leave the temple.  
They apparently were used to “novice acolytes” going to bed early after a day working at the temple (She wasn’t an acolyte. There was no reason for her to stay here. She didn’t want to stay here).  
Ari was used to staying up late with her family to moon and star gaze. Her parents would tell stories to her and her siblings about the stars and the pictures they made. How each constellation would move with the seasons. . .

Ariliel didn’t necessarily think that the priest of Procan would physically force her to stay at the temple if she tried to leave. She didn’t think so. . . .but from the way they had talked to her before, she was sure they would kick up a fuss about her being “young” and “put into their charge by the sea” or whatever nonsense.

And frankly, Ari was a bit ticked off at the way they had been talking and looking at her today. Once everyone in the dormitory had fallen asleep, Ari slipped out of a ground floor window and made her way along the coast. She would find her family herself.


End file.
